Photo gallery Celebration of Indigenous cultures
The Wunk Sheek Native American student organization held a powwow in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 11 at the Gordon Dining and Event Center. The powwow welcomes dancers and singers to celebrate and share Indigenous cultures, including the Madtown Singers as host drum, David O’Connor (Bad River Ojibwe) as head male dancer, and Grace Armstrong (Red Lake Ojibwe) as head female dancer.
Some attendees wore orange in remembrance of generations of Indigenous children who were separated from their families and placed in boarding schools or adoptive or foster homes as part of the United States’ attempt from the late 1800s until 1975 to destroy all Native American languages and cultures. UW–Madison occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place the Ho-Chunk call Teejop (Dejope, or Four Lakes).
At center, dancer Josh Zunker of Ho-Chunk Nation performs with those from several other tribes. Photo by: Jeff Miller
Military veterans Marlon and Marcus WhiteEagle, both of H0-Chunk Nation, enter with color guard flags. Photo by: Jeff Miller
The powwow was held in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day. Pictured is dancer Josh Zunker of Ho-Chunk Nation. Photo by: Jeff Miller
At right, UW-Madison alumni Grace Armstrong, head female dancer of Red Cliff Ojibwe, and David O'Connor, head male dancer of Bad River Ojibwe, lead a two-step community dance. Photo by: Jeff Miller
A young girl and woman, Tessa Begay of Lac Courtes Oreilles, dance during the powwow. Photo by: Jeff Miller
From left to right, Nbiiwakamigkwe of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Keja Schreiber of Marten Falls First Nation, embrace for the potato dance – where two dancers hold a potato between their foreheads while attempting to dance with the beat. Photo by: Jeff Miller
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